Herbert Willi

The Austrian composer Herbert Willi (1956) studied music education and theology at the University of Innsbruck parallel to studies in bassoon and piano at the Innsbruck Conservatory. In 1983, he entered the composition class of Helmut Eder at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg before continuing his studies with Boguslaw Schaeffer. In 1988, Willi became acquainted with Olivier Messiaen. Herbert Willi says that for him сomposing has something to do with trust. Allowing the sounds to happen in silence and unintentionality is one of the most beautiful things I can. He has composed operas, orchestral works and instrumental concertos, chamber opuses commissioned by major music institutions and contemporary music festivals. His works have been performed by leading orchestras and ensembles around the world -Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and others, conducted by such names as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Christoph von Dohnányi, Manfred Honeck und Gustavo Dudamel. His opera Schlafes Bruder (Sleep, Brother) was presented at the Zurich Opera House in connection with the anniversary "1000 years of Austria" (1994/1995). Libretto relating the tragic story of the musical savant Elias was compiled in direct collaboration with Robert Schneider, the author of the original novel of the same name. A revised version of this opera was produced in 2008 and premiered at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt. His Konzert für Orchester (Concerto for Orchestra) (1991) was written for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Salzburg Festival and was premiered in Cleveland under the musical direction of Christoph von Dohnányi, and his Orchestral Meeting (Begegnung für Orchester ) (1997/1998) was written for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for its 150th anniversary celebrations. In 2007 Herbert Willi completed the cycle of four instrumental concertos Montafon: Eirene (for trumpet and orchestra, 2001), ...geraume Zeit... (for flute, oboe and orchestra, 2002/2003), ego eimi (for clarinet and orchestra, 2006) and Äon (for French horn and orchestra, 2007). He spent several phases as composer-in-residence - at the Salzburg Festival and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (four times), the Vienna Concert Association Wiener Concert-Vereins, as well as at the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo (2007) and the Kusatsu Japan International Summer Music Academy & Festival (2008) in Japan. Willi was recipient of numerous awards, including the Austrian State Scholarship for Composers (three times), the Rolf Liebermann Fellowship for Opera Composers in 1990 and the Ernst von Siemens Foundation Young Composers Award. Recordings of his orchestral works have been released by the German classical music label WERGO (WER-6673) and of his chamber music from 1984 to 2005 by the Japanese label Camerata (CM-2125). Herbert Willy titled the cycle of instrumental concertos after his native Montafon valley, while "Montafon" symbolizes the sound of the mountains that resonates in his work. The composer tries to transcribe this sound - these are the vibrations of the pristine nature, because for him every nature, everything has vibrations in it, everything is music.